Hydrolysis products of viscous soluble fibers are described to have beneficial effects, e.g. diarrhea preventive and preventing the adherence of pathogenic microorganisms to the epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract, see for example EP1267891.
However, despite these advantageous uses of the hydrolysis products of viscous fibers, particularly of pectin, they are generally not in found in commercial products aimed for oral ingestion by humans. WO 02/42484 describes a method for producing pectin hydrolysis products and the use thereof.
Before using hydrolysis products of uronic acid polymers, several (potential) difficulties have to be overcome. For example, uronic acid oligosaccharides are difficult to handle, i.e. they are produced in aqueous solutions with low dry matter content, and hence prone to bacterial contamination and thus difficult to store. Additionally, the oligosaccharides are prone to maillardation, particularly when brought into contact with other carbohydrates and protein, potentially resulting in undesirable Maillard reaction products with concomitant undesirable effects on color, odor and taste of the product.
Because of the presumed difficulties attached to their use, the oligosaccharides are not or only very limitedly used in food applications. If used, the food processing step will be designed so that contact between the uronic acid oligosaccharides and the other components is avoided in a reactive environment, e.g. by dry blending the uronic acid oligosaccharides. Dry blending has additional disadvantages, because it is expensive and often results in size or density separation of the particles during transport, yielding unacceptable products.